What's up in emerging technology

What's up in emerging technology

AI can help spot coding mistakes before they happen

Game developer Ubisoft has trained an AI to alert coders before they build software that contains bugs.

What it is: Wired UK reports that the AI, called Commit Assistant, is trained on a database of Ubisoft code—and associated bug fixes—stretching back a decade.

How it works: It spots when a developer is writing code similar to script that was once edited to fix bugs. Then it flags the possibility of a mistake to the programmer.

Why it matters: Finding and fixing bugs is time- and labor-intensive. Ubisoft says it soaks up 70 percent of development budget for a game. AI could slash those costs.

But: Getting coders may worry AI could write code, not just bug-check it, and getting them to use it may be hard. Ubisoft says it wants staff to think of the AI as a tool to help speed up work, not make them redundant.